A Tale of Two Cities

Arta Gallery

February 2015

Hosted by Emerging Young Artists at the Arta Gallery in the Distillery District and supported by Celestial Vault Media and the UTChinese Network, the initiative was established to affirm and include aspiring young artists’ in the innovative and globally engaged art culture of Toronto.

In a time of rapid global changes, the theme of A Tale of Two Cities explores modern life struggling between the roots of our past and the constant interruption of our present. The exhibition introduces 23 emerging artists on the issues of interconnectedness and migration through their depictions of cities that are deeply engraved into memory and identity.

Consistent with the theme: A Tale of Two Cities, Emerging Young Artists values individual perspectives, embracing diversity and inclusion at various intersections such as discipline, race, gender, orientation, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

The majority of the showcasing artists currently reside in Canada, but many began their artistic pursuits in places such as China, Bangladesh, and Nicaragua. Most have lived their lives in places very different from their birthplace. While art will bring them under one roof, they are from all walks of life: accomplished engineer, outdoor enthusiast, or full-time mother. Drawing from their experiences, they have depicted all kinds of places, from impressionable bustling metropolitans to backcountry forests, using a range of emotive personas and perspectives that make up the greater fabric of our global community in Toronto.

Through the works of these 23 emerging young artists, it presents a montage of experiences encompassing a global perspective viewed through the lenses of young visionaries today.

Dr. Sara Diamond

President of OCAD University

Artists

-Alexandra Papouchina from OCAD University
-Alicia Kim from OCAD University
-Annie Song from University of Toronto
-Cassandrea T. Xavier from Ryerson University
-Charlotte Di Carlo from OCAD University
-Farhana Haque from York University
-Hope P. Flynn from OCAD University
-Henry Lu from University of Toronto
-Jenny Shi from NSCAD University
-Jessica Baldanza from OCAD University
-Jin Liu from OCAD University
-Jianzhong Li, a graduate from University of Waterloo
-Kelly Hu from Academy of Art University
-Marley R. Johnson from NSCAD University
-Mu Shan from Central Academy of Fine Arts
-Naomi Liu from University of Toronto
-Nick C. Reddon from Western University
-Sally Huang Wong from Central Academy of Fine Arts
-Scott B. Baird from Alberta College of Art + Design
-Suvi Ling from University of Toronto
-Winnie Wu from University of Toronto
-Yan Wen C. from OCAD University
-Yu Yang from University of Toronto